


Calm Before the Comet

by Dinobotrex



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aang (Avatar)-centric, Aang Needs a Hug (Avatar), Aang learns sound bending, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Badass Aang (Avatar), Bumi and Kuzon are the OGs, Gen, Gyatso is an amazing teacher
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:01:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29679489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dinobotrex/pseuds/Dinobotrex
Summary: 5 years before Sozin's comet streaks through the sky and the genocide of the air nomads is committed, the council of elders chooses to send Aang to the Eastern Air Temple. But when Aang makes a different choice, he begins his Avatar journey on a new path.An exploration of the extents and how powerful airbending really is when used unleashed.Updates on Wednesdays!
Relationships: Aang & Appa (Avatar), Aang & Bumi & Kuzon (Avatar), Aang & Bumi (Avatar), Aang & Gyatso (Avatar), Aang & Kuzon (Avatar), Aang (Avatar) & Original Character(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 10





	1. New Path

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ff idea has been nagging at my mind, so here it is. I want to give this AU so much more world building than cannon and use it to explore the history of the air nomads. Airbending in this story will be explored to the fullest. I know in ATLA there really isn't 'The most powerful element', but airbending has be explored very little and is the most destructive and powerful of the four elements. My first piece of writing on this site; hopefully you enjoy reader!

5 years before Sozin’s Comet and the Genocide of the Air Nomads

The council chamber was always created with the idea of being spacious. It didn’t have a door, rather, it had a large horizontal oval shaped entrance. The roof was non-existent, instead it had a collection of grape vines that had the purpose of providing shade similar to the branches of a tree. Sadly, even though it was built for people who held freedom as the core of their beliefs, many of the monks who sat on the council were close minded in their beliefs and sought to control. Currently the chamber was host to Monk Gyatso, Monk Tashi, and Monk Pasang, who were deep in argument.

“Aang needs to have freedom and fun. He needs to grow up as a normal boy.” Gyatso argued. As Aang’s mentor he wished for the boy to have a regular upbringing; one free from obligation and the responsibility of keeping the world balanced.

“Hmmh, You cannot keep protecting him from his destiny.” Tashi responded as he turned to glare at his fellow monk.

“Gyatso, I know you mean well. But you are letting your affection for the boy cloud your judgement.” Pasang added in his familiar baritone voice.

This statement annoyed Gyatso, though he did not show it,It would only hurt his case. “All I want is what is best for him.” Gyasto decided to respond with. It would neither show his annoyance, nor would it sound as if he was backing down.

“But what we need is what’s best for the world.” Pasang countered. He took a moment to look down in thought before he continued with finality, “You and Aang must be separated. The Avatar will be sent away to the Eastern Air Temple to complete his training.”

Gyatso could only look down in acceptance, he couldn’t overrule the decision of the head monk of the temple, it would only gain his disfavor among the others.

* * *

Aang could only look on in horror and shock, his eyes wide and limbs shaking from his hiding place in the grape vine canopy. They wanted to separate him from Gyatso. They wanted to take away everyone he knew and everyone he loved. It felt like a betrayal of everything he was taught from his first days at the Eastern Air Temple with Sister Iio. His airbending instincts that were a part of him since birth told him to run, to never let them take Gyatso away from him, to never let them take away his freedom. But something made him stop, some far off instinct from a memory he couldn’t recall, from a life he could not remember.

‘You must face this head on’ a voice spoke up, barely above a whisper. If he had been breathing hard he may have never heard it.

This made him pause, he had never heard this voice before. It told him to face this head-on, to be rock solid, to be unflinching, and to face this problem, but what part of him was suggesting this, this… this was not how he acted. The voice was compelling though and inspired him. With this newfound drive, Aang decided that if he wanted this to be solved he couldn’t run away, he had to face it head on and defend Gyatso and himself from those who sought to control him.

Aang walked down and into the council chamber, where all three elder monks were surprised to see him. Gyatso looked less surprised than the other two, he might have guessed that Aang would want to see what was happening and why his teacher was walking off to the council chamber in a huff. Aang shook those thoughts from his head. He was here to call out Monk Tashi and Monk Pasang, he was here to confront his problem head-on.

‘Just like a rock’ continued the voice from within.

Through the surprise, Gyatso was the first of the three Monks to recover and ask “Aang what might you be doing here?” It wasn’t an accusation, rather a patient question. When Aang compared that to how other Monks, especially how Monk Tashi talked to him, he couldn’t help but be thankful for his mentor.

Aang looked down in contemplation, doubt creeping into his mind whether he should do this, why was he doing this? But one quick shake of the head later, all doubts were expelled and he looked up with narrowed eyes and determination written all over his face. He finally spoke with what people would later call his ‘Avatar voice.’ “You can’t take me away from Gyatso, he is my teacher and I want him to be the master from whom I learn air bending from. I don’t know much about the Avatar let alone what it means to be the Avatar, but I am confident that they are allowed to choose their own teachers.”

‘Good’ complemented a different voice.

This garnered shocked looks from Monk Tashi and Monk Pasang, and a prideful look from Gyatso. Though Monk Tashi was the first one to respond in a tone of someone who knew they were wrong but would not back down, “You are out of line Avatar, you must focus on your training and Monk Gyatso is doing you a great disservice filling your head with nothing but laziness.”

Gyatso was about to provide a retort, but was beaten by Pasang who had a look of guilty resignation. “The boy is right Tashi. The Avatar is allowed to choose his teacher. Although we had first given Gyatso the task of teaching him, the boy has chosen Gyatso as his teacher and will accept no other.”

‘Great’ finished the first voice

Aang was truly shocked, he had stood his ground and spoken directly against the head Monk of the Southern Air Temple. Something like this would have gotten any other Monk thrown out, but here Aang was showing him his mistake and convincing Monk Pasang.

Monk Tashi though, was obviously repulsed by this choice from what Aang could gage of his reaction. He still wasn’t very good at reading people’s faces, but he did notice Gyatso's expression was so full of pride, happiness, and joy that Aang had to look away in embarrassment.

Aang looked back up to Monk Pasang and bowed before speaking once again sagely, “Thank you Head Monk Pasang for your consideration and acceptance of my advice. It means more to me than you might understand.”

With that Aang turned around and all but ran out of the chamber. The voices had disappeared and with it the inspiration. He could only use those far away instincts for so long before his normal and instinctual air bender mentality returned. Once out of earshot of the three Monks he exhaled a sigh of relief. He had acted like someone so foriegn to himself that he wasn’t sure what had brought him to act like that in the first place. With that he began to walk back to his room, oblivious to Pasang’s comments of looming war.

* * *

Gyatso watched as Aang walked out of the council chamber, a small content smile on his face. It brought back memories of when Roku had been stubborn about something. Everyday he saw something more that would remind him of his old friend. He realized the true nature of the Avatar in that moment, even if they were reincarnated into different people from different nations, they seemed to share similarities from their past lives. He turned back to face Monk Tashi and Head Monk Pasang to gauge how they would act further.

“Gyatso, perhaps you are doing well with his teaching, he just exemplified the earthbender in him that many of us in the temple could never manage.” Monk Pasang said. He turned to Tashi and continued “Monk Tashi, perhaps you were too hasty in your accusation of Monk Gyatso. The young Avatar seems to be moving along well. I don’t want you to interfere in his teaching again, leave the Boy to Monk Gyatso. I am confident he will be ready to keep the balance when the darkness encroaches.”

With that the three Monks left and went their separate ways.

* * *

Aang's previously cheerful mood was brought down when he remembered yesterday’s events and how the other children of the temple excluded him from their games. They had come up with a completely new game that had so much potential for fun with the technique he had come up with to earn his arrows. Even if he had defended Gyatso, the other kids wouldn’t accept him and he would miss out on so much fun. Being the Avatar hadn’t brought much happiness to his life so far; it made the other kids look at him as some sort of god and had almost gotten himself forcibly separated from Gyatso. Aang was a prodigy, the youngest airbender to master the element, but it only brought pain. Aang only could wish he wasn’t the Avatar, it would end so many of his problems. He also pondered on the voices, never had that happened and he had no idea what to make of it. Aang’s self-pity and reflection was pushed to the back of his mind as Gyatso entered his room.

“Ohh, Aang. How are you feeling? You made me so proud to call you my student today.” Gyatso said with so much warmth and kindness in his voice. Spirits, Aang wished he could be half the Monk Gyatso was.

“I’m alright. I… I just feel that being the Avatar is making everyone think I’m some sort of different person. I- I’m just Aang, I just want to have fun, meet new people, make new friends…” Aang answered Gyatso, trailing off towards the end. He didn’t feel comfortable sharing what had driven him to confront Head Monk Pasang, about the voices he heard.

Gyatso frowned, this was the first time Aang spoke like this to him. “Aang, just because people look at you differently when they learn you’re the Avatar, that doesn’t mean you should act differently. Being your own person is important, and so is defending what you believe. Remember though, you should always seek the counsel and advice of those around you, you just need to learn when that advice will do more harm than good.”

Aang looked up at those words. He took that advice to heart and would always remember it, and could use it when he had to be wise like Gyatso. Knowing this Aang smiled and turned to Gyatso and said “Thank you,” giving him a hug.

“Rest up my pupil, tomorrow is a new day and a new opportunity; we must always take advantage and make the most of the day.” Gyatso said. He paused for a second, seemingly in consideration before continuing, “And tomorrow we’ll take Appa to go see Bumi. While on the way though we must continue your training. Just because the Monks decided to grant you your arrows doesn’t mean there is something we can’t get better at. Just as nature continuously grows, so too can our minds and our bending.” With a pat on the back and a joyful smile Gyatso left Aang’s room.

Aang’s previous grievances were pushed to the back of his mind. Images of riding the mail system with Bumi flashing through his head. Even if he did not know it, Aang’s brief moment of earthbender mentality would drastically change his path to avatarhood and his quest to bring balance to not just the world, but to friends yet to be born.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well if you haven’t guessed already this story is an AU where Aang never ran away and instead had another 4 years of training under Monk Gyatso in peace. If everything goes well and I complete this story, this will be the prequel to a world where Aang emerges from the iceberg at 16 years old. Chapter updates will most likely be week to week. Thanks for reading!


	2. Fresh Journey

Aang woke up the same way he did in the temple for as long as he could walk, to the sound of the morning bell. Recently he had woken up before it, at sunrise, and he wasn’t sure why though. Aang had asked Gyatso why, but his mentor never gave him a straight answer. Aang broke from his musings and pushed himself out of bed. Walking over to his dresser he pulled out a tunic and quickly pulled it over his head, tying the binding that secured his shirt to his pants. Aang made his way over to the wash bin, grabbing his tooth brush and giving it some paste, he brought it up to his mouth and began brushing. As he brushed his mind began to wander as he recalled yesterday’s rollercoaster of emotions. Aang couldn’t believe he was almost sent to the Eastern Air Temple to be kept away from Gyatso; he had no idea what he would have done if it wasn’t for those faint whispers that told him to confront Head Monk Pasang. He might have done something dumb, like running away. Aang broke from his thoughts as he gargled some water and finished brushing, he didn’t bother looking into the mirror, he didn’t have to shave his hair yet. 

Turning around he strutted for the door, making his way down the hall to the meditation garden. Monk Alu was leading today and it usually was a peaceful meditation when he led. Taking his seat, Aang entered a lotus position and waited patiently for the other kids to walk in, for as lazy as he could be, Aang always made sure to be punctual for meditation. Being on time for things was something Gyatso made important to Aang early on. As he waited his mind began to wander, he thought about what fun he could get up to with Bumi once he got to Omashu. Last time there his earthbender friend had spoken of a cave near Omashu they could explore. Aang knew if Gyatso learned about Bumi’s suggestion he wouldn’t allow him to go off with Bumi. There wasn’t much to worry about though, riding the mail carts was always lots of fun.

Finally the last of the kids got to the garden and Monk Alu began the session. Even if Monk Alu was one of the younger masters in the temple, barely around 45, he had a taste for classic meditation methods that eased the mind and body. Aang could sense him slowly bending the acacia incense around them, its musky sent filling his nose. This had the intended effect on him and helped him ease into his meditative state, his mind slowly emptying of yesterday’s drama and the past weeks pain. When his mind attempted to wander he would reel it in, just like a leashed ostrich horse. His spirit became centered and he felt something pulling at him from a great distance, but he wasn’t strong enough yet to follow the pull. The next hour passed in a blissful meditation, deep inhales then slow exhales, the chest falling and rising. Aang could sense the world around him; the sun, the wind, the clouds, and the earth, all stimulating his senses. 

As the meditation came to a close, Monk Alu rang the meditation bell three times in perfect rhythm, pulling him and everyone else out. As Aang stood up and brushed off his tunic Gyatso came up to him with a smile. “Well Aang are you ready to go?” Gyatso asked, already knowing the answer.

Aang smiled and eagerly nodded before saying “Yep, just have to grab my staff, then we can go have fun with Bumi!” He was excited and ever since he was told of his avatarhood, he had begun taking his studies privately with Gyatso.

“Great Aang, I’ll go saddle Appa, I already loaded our supplies on him.” responded Gyatso, turning to make his way toward the bison stables. 

Aang turned around too and walked back to his room. It was a short and uneventful walk back to his room, few if any of the other kids at the temple would walk up to him now that they knew he was the Avatar. Approaching his room we pushed the door open and used some airbending to pull his glider to him. Opening the wings, he gave it a quick once over to make sure no moth flies messed with the wings. Once he completed his examination, Aang walked into his room closing the door. He hopped onto the window sill, opening the wings of his glider. Aang entered a crouched stance, placing his hands on the front most struts and jumping out the window. He flew his way to the bison stables, passing over the temple and taking in its morning beauty. 

Once Aang neared the bison stables he de-elevated and with a fluid motion spun around closing his glider and landing on both feet. Landed, Aang walked over to Appa, giving the large beast a pat on the head and airbended some hay out in front of him. The grand sky bison gave a grateful bellow and focused on finishing the hay. Aang walked to the side of Appa seeing Gyatso finishing up with packing. 

As Gyatso turned to Aang he began, saying “As you know Aang this will be a few days journey to Omashu, because of this I have packed a few scrolls I want you to read. We’ll also be working on form 32 and form 28, both forms were your weakest in your mastery test. I also want to work on your mastery of form 35.” Aang could only groan at that, Gyatso always managed to add practice to any sort of fun activity he had planned. Gyatso gave a light chuckle at his pupils' reaction and continued “You need to master it sometime, can’t be lazy all the time Aang, you’ll end up like Tashi.” This got Aang putting a hand over his mouth to stop laughing, he knew making fun of others was mean, but he could never stop himself from laughing when others did it.

When Aang finally was able to stop himself from laughing anymore he nodded to Gyatso and answered “Okay Gyatso, I understand. Form 35 never came easy to me so I guess I’ll just have to work my hardest on it. I don’t want to be known as ‘Lazy layabout Aang’ forever.” It was Gyatso’s turn to laugh. Both revealed each others’ joy before airbending themselves onto Appa. Gyatso checked to see if Appa was done eating the hay before he gave a “Yip, Yip” and pulled on the reins to get the sky bison into an accent.

Aang watched the temple fade into the background as Appa leveled and began to crouse. Once the temple was no longer visible he turned to the scrolls Gyatso had packed and pulled one out. Gyatso had made sure he couldn't know what it was about from the outside. His mentor had made a rule against not reading scroll once he picked them, and once he learned Aang would study the scrolls before picking them he had made them markless so Aang couldn’t avoid topics he thought were boring.

Opening up the scroll Aang read the tile out loud so Gyatso could know what his pupil had unknowingly gotten himself into. “ _ History of the sky bison _ !” Aang shouted to Gyatso from across the saddle.

Appa gave a long roar that Aang could understand as him saying ‘Good luck, our history is long.’ Gyatso added his own thoughts as well, saying “Ahhh, that one was one of my favorites. It's always brings me joy learning about the first airbenders!” 

Both of Aang’s eyebrows rose at that, what did Gyatso mean by ‘first airbenders?’ Lucky for him Aang had his mentor right there to answer him. “The sky bison knows about the first airbenders?” asked Aang.

A chortle of laughter rang out from Appa’s head. Aang moved to the front of the saddle to look at Gyatso expectantly. “Sky bison were the first airbenders my dear boy, they showed the first of us how to master airbending.” Gyatso responded.

Aang’s eyes shot wide, a large smile accompanying it. He jumped onto Appa’s head, right next to Gyatso and looked down at his animal companion asking “Maybe you might want to give me a lesson boy?!!” Aang was answered by a bellow from Appa that he understood as ‘Would love to Aang.’ 

After giving Appa a pat Aang returned to the saddle and picked up the scroll. Maybe reading could be fun after all; he could learn so many things that he could share with Appa. Returning his eyes to the scroll and opened it and began to read.

* * *

The sun was low in the sky and dusk was quickly approaching. As Aang watched the sun slowly set, Gyatso began to have Appa descend. After a few hours Aang had finished the scroll. He had never been so interested to read something; Aang often found himself avoiding reading because it wasn’t very fun to his 12 year old mind. This was different, he wasn’t sure if it was because Gyatso told him bison were the first airbenders or because it was just something interesting to him, but Aang found himself eager to begin reading again.

As they neared the ground Appa stuck out his legs preparing to land, hitting the ground softly with grace only an airbender could manage. Gyatso leaned forward to untie the reins from Appa’s horn while Aang began to sort through their pack for some food and their spark rocks. Once done with the reins Gyatso began to cobble together wood for the fire and piled it up striking the spark rocks Aang had given him, a ‘fwoof’ later and the fire was started. 

With a quick look up Aang saw only clear skies meaning he wouldn’t have to grab the tents and they could just rest against Appa. Gyatso began making tea as they both munched on some fruit and Appa on the surrounding grass.

It was then Gyatso spoke, “While we wait for our jasmine tea to brew I want to begin your practice on form 35.” Aang nodded and followed Gyatso a few meters away from camp. Once far enough away so as to not blow away the fire Gyatso turned around. “For mastery of cloud stepping you must quickly make the air beneath your feet dense. Don’t let the name fool you, those who invented this form were not the Avatar and could not bend water, it may come easier to you now that I have explained it in greater depth my pupil as you are not only an airbender, but also a waterbender. Focus on bringing the air together similar to that of your air scooter, but make sure to collapse it with greater force. This requires you to focus on foot movements.” Gyatso demonstrated exactly this, spinning the air near his feet with quick leg motions. Aang could feel the air being focused in one spot, then as Gyatso stepped on the condensed air he could feel it contract ever so slightly under the new weight and as he stepped off the air pushed the foot upward raising Gyatso off the ground. “Once you are about to move onto the next foot allow the air to push forth upward. Simply repeat for each step, though be warned, this is not a substitute for flying. It is slower and will leave you open to attack and the higher you step the weaker the pressure of the air until it will be very hard to step again. Now follow my movements and carry out the form.” 

Aang took in Gyatso’s words and began to repeat the leg motions, something oddly familiar about it. For the next few minutes he began working on bending the air into tight spheres with just his feet. Gyatso would have him start over every time he saw movement of the hands. Aang wasn’t very good when it came to bending with his feet, most airbenders weren’t, airbending had a focus on hand and arm movements. This form took Aang some time to ever get the first step down. Gyatso told Aang to continue practicing while he went off to collect the tea and when he returned with the kettle he approved of Aang’s work on the first step to the form. Aang began the form again with some feet movement and stepped onto the compacted ball. When he stepped off, the air slipped from his control and quickly put the young avatar on the ground face first. Gyatso had to suppress a smile, not wanting to embarrass his pupil. After a few more tries Aang was able to complete his first cloud step. Aang smiled greatly at this newly learned ability he performed. Airbending brought so much joy to Aang, little to nothing could bring such joy to him. 

* * *

Aang progressed with the form, bending the air with his legs until he would jump on it and use it to propel himself to the next step, slowly getting higher and higher, faster and faster, with each step. Gyatso sat by with a prideful smile drinking his jasmine, content with teaching his pupil. Slowly Aang was able to constantly get the form correct and reach the treetops. Although he could speed it up more Gyatso deemed him a master of the form. Gyatso could see how the distant familiarity of bast lives helped Aang progress through the form. Normally this form would take weeks, maybe months, for typical airbenders to master, lower body movements were not common in airbending. Being the Avatar though, brought to the table the ability to combine different bending forms with that of other elements and could make one’s knowledge balanced and complete. Gyatso had learned exactly that when he traveled with Roku. As Gyatso called it for the night and began to drift off to sleep on Appa, he couldn’t help but connect and see similarities between his pupil and his old friend.

* * *

Aang slowly opened his eyes, something inside of him awakening at the first glimpses of sun. He looked around the camp and already saw Gyatso somehow cheerfully awake and making more tea. Aang pushed himself off of Appa’s leg pulling his shirt over his head and walking over to his mentor, still rubbing his eyes. When a cup of tea was placed in his hands and he took a big whiff, all the grogginess left in him vanished. As Aang sat down, Gyatso brought a bowl of fruit and a small pastry to him. Slowly eating he began to feel how sore his mussels were from last night. Aang was surprised he got a hold of the form that quickly, and even more so Gyatso approved of it and deemed him a master of the form; though Gyatso said he could always do with completing it faster. Cloud stepping wasn’t something he thought he could really be good at when Gyatso told him he could only use his feet, heck most of the forms he mastered first solely involved arm movements. Somehow though he got it, and that brought a question to his lips.

“Gyatso, how was I able to learn cloud stepping so fast?” Aang asked.

Gyatso turned to look at him from his tea and smiled “The familiarity of foot motions from your past lives granted you with an intimate understanding.” replying simply.

Aang paused, eyebrows raised and eyes wide. This was the first time Gyatso had talked about him being the Avatar and how it affected him. Then Gyatso’s words were processed by Aang; his familiarity with the motions that he felt was because of his past lives, past Avatars. “Wow” was the only thing he could manage to get out through the swirl of thoughts. Gyatso gave a nod at this in understanding how the new knowledge would affect his pupil avatar. A few minutes passed in silence as both monks ate their breakfast. 

After both finished Gyatso put out the fire with a controlled removal of air from it, he moved to Appa who by this moment had woken up and was eating hay. With a pat he moved to grab the reins and began to tie them. Aang grabbed both Gyatso and his bowls and walked over to the river. Dunking the bowls into the water he washed them up and cleaned them. Turning around he walked back to Appa and airbended himself onto his animal companion. With one last look around to make sure they didn’t leave anything and had left the land unharmed, Gyatso let out a “Yip, yip”.

Aang went back to the back of the saddle making for the bag of scrolls. Plucking one out, less conscious this time; his last bit of reading was enjoyable and he  _ wanted _ to read for what felt like the first time. Unfurling the scroll he took a look at the title, once again reading out loud for Gyatso. “ _ How to make a glider, in detail!” _

Gyatso gave a ‘Hmm’ before commenting, “Great choice Aang, being able to make yourself a glider from scratch is important, so is being able to repair it.” He looked back before continuing “We’re going to stop at Kyoshi Island and take a day's break there and ride the giant koi fish. I also need to talk to some friends there as well.”

Aang jumped with joy at hearing this, almost dropping the scroll in his hand. Lowering himself back onto Appa gracefully he began imagining the fun that awaited him. Riding koi fish was very very fun and he hoped one day he could bring Bumi and Kuzon here to ride them. Having fun was great and all, but sharing it with others was even better. 

“-And we’ll continue your practice, but first fun!” Gyatso shouted from Appa’s head with a chortle of joyous laughter following seeing Aang’s face contort at the word ‘practice’ but relaxed at ‘fun.’

Aang sat himself down reopening the scroll and beginning to read. He couldn’t wait to tell Appa all about gliders when he finished reading. Admittedly he had talked Appa’s ear off when Gyatso had left to meditate, though he knew his best friend didn’t mind and enjoyed listening to him. Turning his full attention to the words he focused on reading and let himself learn.

* * *

It was roughly midday when they reached Kyoshi Island. Aang looked over the saddle, images of him riding the giant koi fish flashing through his mind. Returning to his sitting position at the back of the saddle Aang picked up where he left off on the scroll. It wasn’t as long as the one about the history of sky bison, but it wasn’t any less interesting. He finished the last few paragraphs ending off his reading. Rolling it up and tucking the scroll into its pouch, Aang hopped onto Appa’s head with Gyatso. Approaching the island Aang saw a village he hadn’t seen before, multiple villages actually and a dock. Maybe that's where Gyatso’s friends lived that he was going to meet with, maybe he could even be friends with them as well. That was a dumb thought, of course he could make friends with them, anyone who was friends with Gyatso would want be friends with him.

Gyatso turned to Aang with a serious face that startled Aang. “You must not tell anyone you meet that you are the Avatar. There are storm clouds on the horizon that only bring danger.” Gyatso spoke, every word oozing with the authoritative power he held over Aang as his sifu.

Aang was worried by how serious Gyatso was about what he said and what his words entailed. Aang had also never heard Gyatso speak that way with him, let alone those moments when Tashi had annoyed his sifu. What scared Aang most of all was the ominous warning of storm clouds on the horizon. He had no idea what that meant, but if Gyatso was worried about it, there was good reason to be too. 

Aang gave a nod, through the warnings of Gyatso, Aang hadn’t even wanted others to know he was the Avatar. He was scared that others would react similar to the other kids at the temple. That they would shun him, avoid him, exclude them from their games. Being the Avatar hadn’t brought joy to his life, only misery. If only he wasn’t the Avatar…

Aang jumped back into the saddle, shaking his head. Thought like those would only bring sadness and he was here to have fun and make new friends. He had the chance to ignore being the Avatar and simply be Aang. Aang wasn’t sure how long he could only be just Aang, he wasn’t sure how many other Monk Tashis were out there, waiting to sculpt him how they wanted. 

Shaking his head  _ again _ he turned his thoughts to the quickly approaching ground and what fun he could get up to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this longer chapter. I was deciding whether to extend this chapter, but it was getting long and I want to make the next chapter focused on Aang's time at Kyoshi Island. Next update coming soon!


	3. The Kyoshians

Appa landed with a light  _ fwoomp _ . Although Gyatso had landed Appa in the forest, both monks could still hear the noises emanating from the village. Their arrival had seemed to cause quite a stir among the locals. For a moment Aang panicked thinking they knew what he was, but a quick look towards Gyatso showed that-that wasn’t the case.

His mentor explained the noises; “Sadly, it is not often many people see us these days. When people meet monks and nuns though, it is commonly believed that if they treat us with kindness they will be blessed by the spirits.”

Aang raised an eyebrow at that and questioned “What started that Gyatso?”

“In the time of Avatar Yangchen chaos dominated the Earth Kingdom, but Yangchen was able to solve conflict and end poverty for large swaths of people. There on, the belief that treating nomads with kindness began and rapidly spread throughout the world during the time of Avatar Kuruk.”

Both monks hopped off Appa, Aang airbended the saddle off his best friend. He turned to Gyatso and waited for his mentor to start walking into the village. After a few moments Gyatso put down a scroll he was reading and gestured for Aang to follow him as he stood up and began walking. 

“Gyatso am I still allowed to go and ride the giant koi fish?” Aang asked his mentor

Gyatso turned to him and nodded. “Aang, you will have a few hours to explore the island more since the last time we were here. I have to go talk to some friends, they found some scrolls I was hoping to find.” Gyatso said. Aang could tell his mentor was very excited about the scrolls his friends found. 

“What did they find Gyatso?” Aang decided to ask what got his teacher excited.

“Ohh, nothing much, just some airbending scrolls that have been lost for a long time. One day I’ll show you what's in them, some of them later, and others I will teach you sooner.” Gyatso answered, a large smile on his face when he looked down at this student.

“Cool!” Aang exclaimed, he couldn’t wait to see what Gyatso’s friends found. Even if he couldn’t learn what might be in them sometime soon, it was something to look forward to. Patience was something instilled in him since he could first meditate, the monks valued the virtue and made sure all children could be extremely patient.

* * *

The forest path opened up and gave way to a village. It by no means was small, but Aang had seen much larger villages. They were greeted quickly by a large woman who looked around fifty and whose face was coated in red and white face paint. She wore green robes with armor plating and had golden fans attached at the hip. It all looked familiar to Aang, like he had seen it in the mirror every day for an entire lifetime, but he had no idea what to make of this feeling; therefore Aang just wrote it off. The large woman looked at Gyatso, analyzing him head to toe, but his mentor didn’t squirm one bit, his face steady and sporting a disarming smile. Aang couldn’t say the same for himself when the large woman’s gaze moved to him. He couldn’t help but squirm and fidget in place under her analysis of him. 

After a few more moments the woman’s hard look broke and a laugh sprouted from her. “Good to see you Gyatso, it’s always a joy to see you around here.” The woman said. “It’s also nice to finally meet your pupil.”

Gyatso who by now was coming down from his own laugh when he saw Aang squirm spoke. “Aang I would like to introduce one of my old friends, Sumin. Sumin this is my pupil Aang. He just recently mastered airbending and has received his arrows. I am very proud of him.”

Aang blushed a bit at the compliment and rubbed the back of his neck, the later a nervous habit he had started early on in life. “It’s an honor to meet you Sumin of Kyoshi.” Aang said as he bowed.

Sumin looked at Aang with a smile and said “Likewise young airbender. Please, just call me Sumin. I am the captain of the Kyoshi Warriors. We protect our island against any threat. Be it invaders or pirates.”

“That's really cool!” Aang announced excitedly. Sumin was cool and he was pretty sure she would be a great friend. 

Gyatso turned to Aang, smiling, and said “Well Aang, you are free to explore. Sumin has some things to show me.”

Aang nodded and waved goodbye to his mentor and Sumin. As soon as they were out of sight Aang took off with his glider, flying to the beach where he could ride the giant koi fish. Soaring through the skies, Aang had a birds eye view of the village. He could see how the village looked, it was focused along a single road, there was a path that led into the forest, and a dojo that was separated from the rest of the village. Aang’s focus slowly turned to a pillar that was located towards the central part of town. It had a statue on top that demanded his attention, something inside pushing him to acknowledge it. Aang turned his attention back forward to the beach, he made note of checking out why that statue entrapped his attention.

Nearing the beach, Aang spun, pulling his arm in and closing his glider, landing with elegance and grace only seen from master airbenders. Once landed Aang sat down on the beach, waiting for the giant koi fish to begin breaching. For the next few minutes Aang sat in silence, waiting patiently for the large fish to begin their display. Those minutes turned into an hour, but Aang simply sat patiently for the koi fish to appear. 

When he first saw the splash he thought it might just have been a smaller fish native to the island, scuttling along the surface, but then a large flash of orange appeared and Aang knew it was time for fun. Discarding his kavi, Aang leapt into the water, using the recently learned cloud stepping to get him across the water faster. He came to a stop and dropped into the water. Opening his eyes, Aang looked around the water for the giant koi. Finally seeing one coming directly towards him, a wave of joyful anticipation swept over Aang. When the koi of large proportion neared, Aang latched on to its dorsal fin. Immediately the giant koi sprung into action, hundreds of pounds of water battered against Aang's form as the fish raced on. The sting of hammering water did nothing to hem in his lopsided jubilant grin, the dangerous thrill echoing through Aang’s body as the fish plowed on at a high velocity. Without a moment's notice, Aang’s newly mounted koi breached the deep blue surface, a cascade of white following their accent into the sky. The young airbender could only howl with excitement as the koi rapidly descended towards the blue gulf, hitting the crishendow of the koi’s jump.

The blissful excitement overtook Aang, troubles from the previous week forgotten as laughs overtook him. Minutes passed, and before he knew it the sun was getting low in the sky and Aang could tell his stay on the koi’s dorsal was becoming unwelcomed. Not one to overstay his welcome, Aang took one last leap off the koi and swam for shore. Laying on the sand, exhausted and in a state of euphoria, Aang could only anticipate the moment he could bring Bumi and Kuzon to Kyoshi. 

Bringing his fists together, Aang gave off a large spherical blast of air that instantly dried him off. Redressing in his kavi, Aang turned back to the village and took off once more with his glider.

* * *

Gyatso looked down at the scroll in his hands. He couldn’t believe that they found it, ever since he heard the myths he knew that he had to find something to confirm them. After decades of searching on his part and the many years others put into searching for it and more they found it. 

Turning to the window Gyatso placed the scroll back onto the table, he could see Aang approaching, his cheery mood radiating through the sky like all those heavenly bodies. He would show his pupil the scroll when he was ready, and well, when Gyatso himself could actually perform the technique. Maybe Aang might grasp the technique before him, Gyatso mused. His pupil held such raw power only equivalent to what he saw in Roku. Techniques and forms coming so easily that it would make the greatest bending prodigies jealous. Raw power that magnified the strength behind every attack ten fold. Early on Gyatso had seen how much Aang held himself back, his student held a fear of injuring others. Aang’s pure heart wouldn’t allow himself to inflict great and lasting harm on others, a noble quality for an Avatar, but Gyatso feared that one day he would be forced to make a difficult decision. Fire Lord Sozin’s aggressive stance in the Western Earth Kingdom made that all the more obvious. Moving to the door, Gyatso stepped outside and waved at Aang. Drawing his attention Aang descended to him and landed. 

“I can see you had a wonderful time at the beach Aang.” Gyatso said, face dominated by a cheerful smile. He could see his student avatar had lots of fun riding the giant koi.

Aang jumped and  _ whooped _ “It was  **so** fun Gyatso!” Aang made an animated motion with his hand, arching it as he said “-And there was this one jump that was really exciting. The fish went into the air and I could feel the wind rushing at my face. Then we landed with a  _ bwoosh! _ ” Aang made an explosion gesture with his hands.

Gyatso could only chuckle at his pupil’s antics. “Well that is great to hear Aang. We must prepare for dinner, Sumin is hosting us for the day.” Gyatso said. He waited for Aang to nod before he continued, once Aang provided his acknowledgement Gyatso continued. “Bring Appa into the village, they have stables prepared for him now. And be quick Aang, Sumin has rice with steamed vegetables ready for us.” Gyatso saw Aang’s jaw adjusted. This was a sign of mouth watering that became an unconscious behavior for his pupil. 

Once Gyatso finished, he watched as Aang took an air enhanced leap then began running off. Smile like always on his ageing face.

* * *

Aang found Appa munching a blossom berry bush. When the sky bison looked up at him he had pulled the entire push out of the ground, still chewing on it. Aang bursted out laughing, clutching his stomach. He had never seen his best friend even do that, but he would imagine it and now here Appa was staring at him with an entire bush in his mouth, continuously munching.

“Ohh Appa, that's not how you're supposed to do that!” Aang yelled in between recovering breaths. Spitting out the bush, Appa gave a roar that simply stated the tastiness of the bushes' leaves. “Well Appa, we’re going back into the village, they prepared the stables for you. All the bushels of hay any sky bison could ever want…” Aang said. Appa roared again, which Aang understood as a ‘Understood Aang, following.’ “Thanks Appa, let's get going!” 

Airbending Appa’s saddle back on, Avatar and animal guide began the walk back into the village.

* * *

Emerging from the forest with Appa, both Airbenders were greeted by what Aang could only assume to be another Kyoshi Warrior, but she was much younger, probably around eighteen Aang guessed. 

“Young airbender,” the Kyoshi warrior began, bowing to him right after before continuing, “My name is Nami, I’ll show you to the stables where you’re sky bison can rest.” Turning, Nami gestured for Aang to follow her.

Aang had to shake his head and focus, it wasn’t often he interacted with women, much less girls near his own age. A moment later he followed after and so too Appa followed. “I’m Aang, nice to meet you!” Aang spoke, another potential friend thought Aang. Walking through the village they passed  _ that  _ statue again, it captured Aang’s eyes and attention. The statue looked just like the Kyoshi Warrior garb, though it had a much larger headdress. A single name floated into Aang’s mind.

_ “Kyoshi _ ,” something inside of him whispered. Aang recognized it as that same whisper he heard only a few days ago.

Aang was completely unaware that he had stopped walking, all attention the monk had was transfixed onto the statue. He didn’t notice Nami had turned around and was calling for him to follow. A few moments later and an annoyed Kyoshi Warrior was right next to him.

“Umm... Hello? Aang,....you gonna follow me?” Nami said, annoyance clear when she spoke.

Aang slowly turned his head, eyes moving off the statute at the last second and turning to Nami. “Who…, Who is that?” Aang offered somewhat distractedly, pointing up at the statue.

Nami turned to the statue and gestured to it, somewhat confused. Aang nodded understanding the silent question. Nami began “That is Avatar Kyoshi, she was the Avatar two elements ago. She created our island when she splitted it from the mainland during Chin’s conquest. She was our first governor and created our island’s guard which bears her name.” Aang could hear the fondness and reverence in her voice.

Quite the legacy to live up to, Aang though. It built up on his already large amount of anxiety about being the Avatar. Thankfully Nami didn’t notice the way his body tensed and his spine went rigid. “Cool,” was simply the only thing Aang could squeak out. He looked back up at the statue of his past life. Pressure built up on his chest, his breaths became more ragged, more strained. Aang’s vision began to darken, gray overtaking his sense of vision. Nami’s voice blurred into the background simply fading into white noise. Panic that he would be a horrible Avatar claiming his mind, visions of the world falling to the darkness Gyatso warned of corrupting him. A few more breathless moments and he would fall. Reaching for his head Aang tried to shake that guilt, that darkness, and the clouds of insecurity that sought to dominate him.

Remembering a meditation technique taught early in life, Aang closed his eyes hard, eyebrows squinting to shut out the mist. Taking a deep breath in, Aang counted to five, then exhaled slowly. For the next minute Aang continued like this. Finally opening his eyes Aang could see Nami looking at him, concern written across her face.

“You okay Aang? You zoned out there for a moment. Everything okay up in that airhead?” Nami questioned. 

Aang reached out for Appa’s head to steady himself. His hand met white fur and a wave of clam swept over Aang. The mist was gone, at least for now. Even at his early age Aang knew stuff like this didn't go away that easily. He did not, in any way, want to tell Gyatso about this. Adding another burden to his mentor’s shoulders wasn’t something Aang was greatly keen on. Keeping the pain to himself would only become a habit that Aang would begin doing more and more as the years passed. Selflessness to a point of self destruction would become something increasingly common with the Air Nomad Avatar.

Turning to Nami, Aang spoke up, voice stronger than how he felt, “I-, I’m okay sorry. I just felt exhausted for a moment. Riding the giant koi must have taken a lot out of me.”

* * *

Nami raised an eyebrow, something was off with this small airbending boy, but questions for another time she thought. There also was that statement about riding giant koi which she found impossible and a far out excuse. “Really, riding giant koi fish?”

* * *

Aang perked up at that, she didn’t know about riding giant koi fish. Resuming their walk back towards the stables, Aang answered Nami, “Yeah! You’ve never ridden them?” He sounded like she had spoken something incredibly absurd.

“You’re going to tell me that you actually rode one of those incredibly sized fishes?” Nami asked, astounded that this twelve year old airbender was capable of that.

Nodding eagerly Aang answered “Yep! It's really really fun!” He gave Nami the same dramatic retelling about earlier that day, complete with hand gestures and sound effects. By the end of said dramatic story, Aang had Nami laughing her heart out, himself along with her. Nami’s previous polite warrior demeanor swapped with that of an older sister having fun with a brother. “Maybe you can come out and try riding them with me next time?” Aang offered

“That sounds really fun and really dangerous.” Nami said. She raised her hand up to her chin, faux contemplating. “I’m in!” She announced bringing up a hand wish and grasped, Nami gave him a hard shake and the promise was set. Aang could feel himself blush at the contant, but it only made his utter lack of same age female interaction all the more obvious.

Arriving at the stables, Nami pulled the gate open and Appa plotted in. Aang removed the saddle, exiting the stable. When Nami moved to close the gate, Aang quickly stopped her and said “Appa doesn’t like closed spaces, it makes him nervous.” He received a nod in return and both began walking back to Sumin’s house.

Nami looked at Aang and asked “So how does your mentor know my mom?”

Aang gave a shrug “I’m not sure, all I know is that some of Gyatso’s friends found something he was looking for.”

Nami nodded “So that’s what got my mom all excited. She said some of her Earth Kingdom mappers found a few scrolls in a desert.” She gave a shrug as well, raising her arms up a bit before lowering them with the shrug. “Probably something for old people. They like their long lost scrolls that have some ‘long lost knowledge and wisdom that will lead us.’” Nami finished, bringing her hands up and making an air quotes gesture. Aang released a grand guffaw, some people turned to look at them for a moment or two before returning to their previous occupation.

“I think we’ll be great friends!” stated Aang with confidence. Nami was very fun and even if she was older than him, he just knew lots of mischief was waiting for them. 

Nami looked down at him and smiled, sweeping an arm at her side, giving a thumbs up, and a wink. “You’re righty Aang!”

Approaching Sumin’s house, their conversation died down and a comfortable silence took over. Time for that promised rice and steamed vegetables thought Aang, mouth watering in excitement.

* * *

Aang followed Nami into her mother’s house, setting his staff near the doorway. He could see Gyatso already sitting down at the table reading a scroll. Aang made his way to the table and sat down next to his mentor.

Gyatso looked up to him. “Good to see you Aang. If you would, I would like you to read this scroll. Something my friends found; I thought it would find it interesting.”

Aang took the scroll Gyatso handed him, curious at what it might read. When he opened the scroll he read the title,  _ ‘Manipulation of sound through airbending, beginner forms to begin.’ _ Aang was very surprised; this entailed that there was more to airbending than just the 36 forms. He looked up to Gyatso in askance. “Wh-wow, is this what I think it is?”

“Indeed Aang, this is a scroll describing early soundbending forms. I learned a bit of it and even created a few forms during my world travels. This is but one of many scrolls my friends found. I want to begin your soundbening training soon, most likely after we complete your complete mastery of normal airbending.” Gyatso informed Aang.

Aang eyes bloomed wide, eyebrows shooting up. He never thought about the limits of airbending and how much they could be stretched. A pandora’s box had been opened inside Aang’s mind. He couldn’t wait to learn more, maybe it would help him live up to his past lives a thought spoke; the anxiety lessened, only a bit. 

* * *

Dinner came and went, rice and steamed vegetables appeasing Aang’s appetite. After calling in for the night, Aang said his goodbyes. Drifting off to sleep, Aang mused on the day. So much fun and so much surprise. Spending nearly the entire day riding the giant koi fish was exhausting. Holding for as long as he had turned his muscles to mush.

The statue of his previous life was concerning. It drew him in, demanded his attention and pulled him in. Nami’s words came to mind; the anxiety, the fog, the panic that he felt nearly crushed him. The pain was manageable now, but it was compressed; stowed deep inside because he didn’t want to worry anybody, least of all Gyatso. A legacy to uphold and a duty to fulfill. 

Then there was soundbending. It was so interesting, so new. Aang had never heard about it, even when he listened in on the Council of Elders meeting. Maybe there was writing about it in Gyatso’s room, but that was one place Aang dared not enter uninvited and snoop. Gyatso was too important to Aang. Sleep encroached on him far easier that he would have thought, sleep claimed that Avatar and thoughts were put on pause.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided on chapter that will be around 2k-4k words. There will be some chapter that are more generalized, while others will have a greater focus. I have to cover 4 years and I want to make my 16 year old Aang similar to his 12 year old self, but whose more confident, powerful, and experienced.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a kudos or a comment ! It’s shows me you’re instrested!


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